Algebra worksheet — GCSE Foundation

1.Two numbers have a sum of 45. The larger number is 9 more than the smaller number. Form an equation using n for the smaller number, and solve it to find the larger number.

2.A hiker's distance-time graph shows the following: he walks 5 km in the first 1 hour at a steady speed, rests for 1 hour, then walks a further 9 km in the next 2 hours, also at a steady speed. Work out his average speed for the whole journey, in km/h.

3.A mobile phone tariff charges a fixed £15 plus 20p for every minute of calls made, so the total monthly charge, £C, for m minutes of calls is given by C = 15 + 0.2m. In a month where Ali's charge was £46.60, work out how many minutes of calls he made.

4.A square tile has an area of 144 cm². Work out the side length of the tile.

5.Explain why the equation 4x + 3 = 4x + 10 has no solution for x.

6.A number, n, is tripled and then 4.5 is added. The result is 22.5. Form an equation and solve it to find n.

7.Yuki is y years old. Her brother is 4 years younger than Yuki. Write down an expression, in terms of y, for the brother's age in 5 years' time.

8.On Monday, a runner covers 15 km in 2.5 hours. On Tuesday, she covers 12 km in 1.5 hours. Using the formula speed = distance ÷ time, work out on which day she ran faster, and by how much.

9.A taxi fare, in pounds, for a journey of m miles is given by the formula F = 3 + 2.5m. A journey costs £15.50. Work out the distance travelled, m, by first rearranging the formula to make m the subject, then substituting F = 15.50.

10.A park is drawn on a grid in which 1 unit represents 1 km. The car park is at the point (0, 0) and the lake is at the point (3, 5). Work out the direct distance, in km, from the car park to the lake, giving your answer to 1 decimal place.

11.Kai writes the expression 8 − 3x + 5x² and says it has three terms. Ryan says it only has two terms because a number on its own is not a term. Work out the correct number of terms in the expression.

12.A stack of firewood has 3 logs in the top layer. Each layer below has 4 more logs than the layer above it. Work out the number of logs in the 6th layer from the top.

13.A taxi company charges a £2.50 booking fee plus £1.80 per mile. A journey costs £15.10 in total. Work out the number of miles travelled.

14.A scout leader is 44 years old and one of the scouts is 16 years old. Work out how many years it will be until the leader is exactly twice as old as the scout.

15.A plumber charges a call-out fee of £30 plus £25 for each hour worked. The total bill for a job was £130. Work out how many hours the plumber worked.